Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Openly gay kicker: Former kicker for Middle Tennessee was out to teammates, The subject of gay football players has really been a hot topic in the past few weeks and months, but the talk is always kind of "when" it happens. A lot wonder just how players and coaches would react to a player being openly gay on the team and in the locker room, but now everyone knows a little more. Yahoo Sports reported on April 23, 2013, that former Middle Tennessee kicker Alan Gendreau is not only gay, but everyone knew about it.

Gendreau played for the school from 2008 until 2011, and he is indeed gay. The team and coaches and school knew about it, but never bothered to say anything to anyone else.

Why should they? He is gay and happy, and his team had no problems with it. Gendreau says that he was treated just like everyone else was.

“My whole thing in this is just to help anybody who is struggling with coming out,” Gendreau told the New York Times. “I want people to know that I didn’t have a problem with it, and they shouldn’t, either.”

Gendreau first had his tale detailed Outsports.com and tells of how he was a four-year starter at the kicker position at Middle Tennessee. He also was the all-time leading scorer for the Sun Belt Conference with 295 points and has the second-longest field goal in the conference's history with a 55-yarder.

This story hasn't made a lot of noise because no-one felt it needed to. Gendreau was another guy on the team and just like everyone else. Now, it has gotten out and the media is catching wind of it.

"Everyone just saw him as a football player," MTSU punter Josh Davis told Outsports.com. "He was just one of the guys. The fact that he proved himself on the field, there was a respect for him. He's a good guy. He's a lot of fun to be around. With all the coaches and players, he had a good relationship."

Now, Gendreau wants the story to not be the focus because he is trying again to make it into the NFL.

“I’m a kicker that happens to be gay,” Gendreau told the New York Times. “It’s a part of who I am, and not everything I am. I just want to be known as a normal kicker.”